The museum’s JourneyMaker, a tool that helps families plan themed visits, won a SXSW Interactive Innovation Award this week at the conference in Austin, Texas. The project won in the category of visual media experience, for “content creation and delivery that moves beyond passive viewership by providing a more immersive and engaging entertainment experience.”

JourneyMaker, which the museum released in June 2016, lets families plan visits with themes like “Superheroes” or “Strange & Wild Creatures,” and choose pieces to see along the way. Then groups print out a paper guide, with prompts encouraging kids to write, draw and have conversations with their groups.

The service is free, although admission to the Art Institute is necessary to see artwork (admission is currently free for people under 18). Users can design their journeys on a kiosk in the Art Institute's Modern Wing or on the web at home.

On the conference’s first official day, those festivities were already in full...

Fledgling companies — including a handful from Chicago — made the trek to the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas, this week to woo investors, network and get people talking about their products.

On the conference’s first official day, those festivities were already in full...

(Meg Graham)

“It’s a blend of digital and analog,” said Jacqueline Terrassa, the Woman’s Board endowed chair of learning and public engagement. “We didn’t want hands on screens, we wanted eyes on art. We wanted kids to also have the opportunity to interact with each other and with their parents as they were moving through the museum.”

The project was chosen from five finalists selected by judges. Terrassa was at South by Southwest with a group from the Art Institute.

“We were so elated and surprised,” she said. “You’re competing internationally — we are a nonprofit, so our resources are limited — we’re competing against for-profits with investors, where the world is their oyster.”

With the win in its pocket, Terrassa said the museum is thinking about how the tool could be used for teachers and students doing self-guided tours.

And someday, there could be a JourneyMaker for adults who don’t know Kandinsky from Hello Kitty.

“Something we’re already beginning to think about is how this platform can be used really for any other audience,” she said. “We’ve in fact gotten requests from parents, (asking) when are we going to create one for adults. It reframes the museum experience, because it allows the audience member, the visitor … to choose their own path through the museum and be active agents of their museum experience.”